If there were a magic pill or a special easy click button for success, would you seek it out? Unfortunately, when it comes to success, there aren’t any short cuts. However, there are ways of attracting success.

The best way to attract success is by being transparent. When it comes to building organizations, transparency has become one of those buzz words used by many organizations.

I look for characteristics such as integrity, faith, transparency, and many more in leaders and organizations. What I’ve discovered is that these attributes aren’t only beneficial for organizations, but they are just as important with our personal lives whether we think we are leaders or not. No one person or organization is perfect, but great leaders possess these traits. Let’s discuss transparency. What is transparency and what does it look like?

Transparency is being obvious, easily seen through, open, frank, candid, and clear. Failure of organizations and individuals can sometimes be attributed to a lack of transparency. Have you been part of a situation or an organization when transparency was lacking? Let me give you an example.

I learned a little bit about transparency when I was part of a church leadership team many years ago. I was the youngest leader in the group at the time, but I knew something wasn’t right when there was an absence of transparency between the vision of the leadership team and the parishioners. There was confusion and angst every time the church met. Several times, I attempted to discuss reasons why we should communicate and be transparent with the parish, but to no avail. The leadership team viewed some of my advice as novice solutions because of my age. Needless to say, I wasn’t part of that leadership team or that church for long.

Shortly after my wife and I parted ways with this church, I was informed of the parish suffering from an unhealthy split, which I think could have been avoided. One thing I learned from that entire experience is the need for transparency. It sounds simple, but sometimes the simple things make the biggest difference. Let me share with you five invaluable payoffs from deciding to be transparent.

1. Promotes trust. Trust is a powerful word. When trust is in the picture, the sky is the limit with achieving your desired goals personally or as an organization. Whether it is a personal or professional relationship, trust is the glue that holds everything together. But trust cannot happen without transparency.

2. Creates healthy solutions. It hard to believe that transparency fixes things, which is why many people lie. Some of the biggest companies and leaders have lost everything because they lied and told partial trues causing their followers to be misled. The lack of transparency never leads to anything positive. Just go back and look at the rise and fall of organizations and leaders, many times before any fall there was an absence of transparency contributing to the deterioration. A simple scripture from John 8:32 says, “You say know the truth, and the truth say set you free.”

3. Develops meaningful relationships. How many meaningful relationships do you have in your life? Would you rather someone tell you the truth or lie to you? I want people in my life who care enough for me to tell me the truth by being transparent. I cannot learn and grow without having friends and family members who are transparent. Life takes on a different perspective with transparent people like this in our lives. Meaningful relationships aren’t about anything, but caring. These people care about the other person’s successes, failures, and their overall well-being.

4. Builds dynamic teams. One of my mentors always says, “You cannot achieve your dreams without a good team.” This is nothing new. We have heard this many times, but it is true. Although it is true, you cannot build a team to achieve your dreams if you are unaware of how to lead. A great way to lead a team is by being sincere, authentic, and transparent. People appreciate genuineness. You will make mistakes, but be open and honest about your mistakes. Be transparent by taking ownership. It goes back to the story I shared early about the church leadership refusing to share their vision with its parishioners. This behavior causes divisions, but the opposite of this behavior is being transparent and this will unify a team.

5. Produces consistent results. One of the greatest things that can happen from transparency other than develop great relationships is you will start to see consistent results. You may know people like this in your life. It seems as if these people are always receiving the best of life. It appears as if they get all the opportunities in the world. But there is a reason why this happens to them. These people are transparent. People know what to expect out of them because they consistently are open and clear about their purpose, motives, and intentions. It is easier doing business or building a relationship when you take the guessing out of the equation.

Are you a transparent leader? If you are a business owner, do you have a transparent organization? If you are lacking transparency, it’s time to add this attribute to your leadership. Leaders without transparency can only go so far when it comes to success. What are your thoughts? Start the conversation by leaving a comment below, sending me a tweet on Twitter, or by leaving a comment on Facebook.